The Black Clan
by Ilovexovers
Summary: The Konoha Twelve are in for a surprise after they die. Kami places them in Japan with a mission: Stop the coming war. One night a year after they arrive in Shizume City, Sakura saves Tatara Totsuka- a member of the infamous Red Clan, HOMRA. As they search for the shooter and try to find the truth, Naruto figures out a secret that changes the situation for him quite a bit.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfic on here, so I hope you like it! I'll update sporadically, since I have a very busy home life, but I'll try to get chapters out quickly! I hope you like it! :)**

 _'Thoughts'_

 _"Talking telepathically"_

 _" **Demon talking** "_

"Normal people"

 **_-Timeskip-_**

 **-** _Flashback_ **-**

 **Alright, onto the chapter!**

* * *

The Konoha Twelve had fulfilling lives. Most died doing what they loved or protecting someone they loved. At their death, each were thrown into a black dimension where they floated around unconsciously. Time had no meaning as years passed and more of the Twelve joined the black dimensional rift. Once all twelve where gathered, they awoke. Confused, they exchanged silent questions in the rift. All of them were confused that they were still alive- at least, they _thought_ they were alive. Only a minute after all of them were gathered, a thirteenth person appeared. It was a girl with feathered wings and a crown made of small green leaves. _"Hello, Konoha Twelve. I am who you call 'Kami'."_ The ninja exchanged disbelieving looks and made to interrogate the girl, but she continued before they could, _"I'm sure you have plenty of questions, but for now, let me explain something to you. There are many dimensions. Yours is filled with ninja and, for the most part, death. You use your life-force, chakra, to do amazing deeds. Other universes are filled with guilds and magic, or demon butlers, or Shinigami, Hollows, and Quincy. There are many such dimensions. The one closest to you, besides your parallel dimension, is one with clans, aura, and kings. I have chosen you twelve, the heroes of Konoha, to go into this dimension and stop a war before it begins."_ The girls says, her voice echoing through the ninjas' minds. Naruto and Hinata exchange a glance.

 _"How do we know you're telling the truth?"_ He asks. The girl, Kami, gives a small smile and sighs.

 _"You don't, you'll have to trust me. But really, all of you are dead. How else would you be here now if it isn't through the influence of a god?"_ Kami answers with a question. The ninja, though still pretty tense, relax a bit. They admit silently, and begrudgingly, that what she says is true. They're all reunited even after witnessing each other deaths.

 _"Will we still have our chakra?"_ Shikamaru inquires, his eyes narrowing. Kami nods.

 _"Of course. You'll have all the power you died with. But you'll also have aura. You'll also be back in your sixteen-year-old body."_ She explains. In a moment, the ninja knew what they would choose if they could choose. Any them would do whatever's necessary to prevent a war. Naruto grins and gives a sharp nod.

 _"Alright! Dattebayo!"_ Naruto cheers mentally. Kami smiles.

 _"Before I send there, I need to tell you a few more things. Your aura will be black, making you the black clan. The black aura will give to the ability to restore Swords of Damocles, which are sort of like power sources. Every King has one. Speaking of which, you have to choose a King, the one who will have the most powerful aura and the one who will lead you. Normally, the king can't be chosen and is just picked at random but since I'm the one giving you your aura, you can choose."_ Kami says. Shikamaru smirks.

 _"I vote Naruto."_ He announces.

 _"Me too."_ It came from Tenten.

 _"He'll lead us youthfully!"_ Lee cheers.

 _"I agree."_ Neji says.

 _"Yeah!"_ Kiba shouts, Akamaru barking in agreement.

 _"Hn."_ Sasuke grunt in what sounds like agreement.

 _"It is the most logical choice."_ That came from Shino.

 _"Of course, he's already our old Hokage."_ Hinata teases.

 _"I'm not old!"_ Naruto objects loudly.

 _"You better not mess this up!"_ Sakura jokes.

 _"Yeah, I agree with Forehead!"_ Ino laughs.

 _"Looks like it decided. We pick Naruto!"_ Choji finishes. Kami nods.

 _"Alright."_ Kami closes her eyes and a gold light surrounds the twelves ninja, as well as the ninken dog. The goddess opens her eyes a moment later and the glow fades. _"There. I've given all of you your aura, and made Naruto the King. I wish you well and hope you can stop the war in time. Good luck and Farewell!"_

The ninja fade from the dark rift. Naruto grins at the goddess and bows respectfully. _"Thank you Kami!"_

* * *

 **Tell me if you liked it, please! I mean, you don't have to but I would like to hear your opinion! :)**

 **See ya next time on _The Black Clan_! :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sorry if the characters act OOC, especially Sasuke. I can't write his personality very well. :/ Anyway, I forgot to put this last chapter but I DON'T OWN K OR NARUTO! If I did, Sarumi would be real and Mikoto (and most likely Tatara) would be alive. And Neji. Neji wouldn't have died. Also, I didn't make this clear last chapter but the rookie nine are sixteen and team guy is around seventeen.**

 _'Thoughts'_

 _"Talking telepathically"_

 **"Demon talking"**

"Normal people"

 **_-Timeskip-_**

 **-** _Flashback_ **-**

* * *

Sakura smiles at Sasuke and grabs his hand, pulling him closer to her. She gives him a soft kiss before pulling away and dragging the stronger ninja towards the tallest nearby building. Sasuke chuckles. "So, why did you want me to meet you here tonight?" He asks. Sakura turns to him with a pout.

"You don't remember? Today is the day we got mar- together!" Sakura reminded. Sasuke frowns playfully and makes a grunt like he's thinking about it.

"No... I'm pretty sure that was yesterday." Sasuke drawled. Sakura punches Sasuke's shoulder lightly.

"No, it's-"

"Tomorrow?" Sasuke guesses, cutting Sakura off. Sakura sends a playful glare at her boyfriend, all the couples having un-married since they're sixteen. Again. Sakura crosses her arms and walks stiff-leggedly over to the door of the building she had been leading Sasuke to, pretending to be mad at him.

"Fine, be like that." Sakura grunts. Sasuke rolls his eyes and opens his mouth to reply, but a gunshot rings through the still air at that. Both ninja tense up and in a second are flying up the stairs of the building the gunshots had come from. Surprisingly, it had been the very building they had been heading to. As they passed the halfway point, another shot broke the tense atmosphere. Sakura pushed chakra to her legs and used her aura to go nearly twice as fast as she had been going before. She crashes through the door with a chakra-infused punch and races across the roof faster than a non-ninja could see, and even the faster ninjas would have a hard time keeping track of her. She skids to a stop next to a teen slowly soaking the ground in his blood. Sakura drops to her knees soundlessly, putting her hands over the boy's wound. Without taking her concentration off getting the bullet out of his chest, she calls out to Sasuke.

"Call a hospital and then get the rest of the clan here in Shizume. I think we found our war starter." Sakura orders, tossing a metal shell covered in blood away from the boy. Focusing on her medical ninjutsu, a green glow covered her hands. The wound slowly healed until it was nothing more than a red mark on his chest. Sighing in relief, Sakura leaning back onto her toes and wiped her forehead. She gives a dry laugh. _'I'm out of practice if this tires me out.'_ Sakura sighs and grabs the boy's shoulder, shaking him gently. "Hey. Hey, open your eyes. I need you to eat a pill to help replenish the blood you've lost." Sakura says kindly. The boy winces and cracks open an eye. Sakura smiles at him, ignoring the sound of people racing out of the stairwell. She looks through her pack for the blood pill, addressing Sasuke while pulling one out.

"Sasuke. Keep them away, this guy needs some space." Sakura commands, helping the boy into a sitting position. He smiles at her- it came out more like a grimace, and opened his mouth to speak. Sakura glares at. "If your going to talk, I swear to Kami I will leave and let you die of stupidity. That bullet nearly hit your heart. Your lucky to be alive." The pink-haired girl growls. The boy pales, an impressive feat with him already being nearly white from blood loss. Sakura smirks and holds out a pill from him to eat. The boy takes it and swallows. Sakura smiles at him and lays him back down before standing up and tuning back into the world around her.

"-go! Let me see Tatara!" An unfamiliar voice yells.

"Sakura's a medic. He'll be fine if we do as she says and she says he need space." Sasuke snaps. Sakura grins and turns around, walking up to her boyfriend who is holding some kid with chestnut hair, a black beanie, hazel eyes, a white shirt, red sweatshirt tied around his waist, and green shorts. He looks pretty short. Sakura puts a hand on Sasuke's shoulder.

"It's ok. Let him go. What did you tell the hospital?" She asks. The Uchiha lets the guy drop to the ground, and he immediately rushes over to the guy who had escaped death. The third guy on the roof quickly joined the shorty.

"I told them I found a pale guy covered in blood." Sasuke says. Sakura nods.

"Good. When's everyone getting to Shizume?"

"Naruto estimated around two days from wherever he is and the others should get here by nightfall. Also, Naruto says he found out something that all of should know. He said that when he got back, he would tell us." Sasuke explains. Sakura nods and turns back to the three unknown people. She walks over to the eldest looking- a blonde guy with tinted sunglasses and a cigarette. The man turned to her thinking she had something to say. Sakura smiles at him before stealing the man cigarette and dropping it on the ground, stepping on it to get rid of the smoke.

"Sorry but that boy," Sakura points at the boy still covered in blood. "Can't breath in anything harmful because he's still pretty weak." The medic explains. "I'm Sakura Haruno, by the way. May I have your names?" The man blinks before giving her a short nod.

"Thank you, for saving him. I'm Izumo Kusanagi, that's Misaki Yata, and the boy you saved is Tatara Totsuka. Is there anything we can do to pay you and your friend back?" The man, newly named (for Sakura) Izumo, asks. Sakura smiles and waves Sasuke over. Her boyfriend walks over to her lazily, resembling a certain Nara.

"We wouldn't mind a few free drinks and some food, we don't earn much. Enough to make a living but... well... I want to make sure we use as little money as possible." Sakura says with a laugh. "This is my boyfriend, Sasuke Uchiha." Sasuke, in response, gives a short wave and his infamous 'hn'. Sakura rolls her eyes. "He's not very social." Izumo chuckles.

"Well, I think I can live with your demands. I _do_ own a bar." Izumo says. Sakura nods.

"Where is it? We'll show up tonight. An ambulance is coming, and I don't like hospitals very much- neither of us do -so we're going to get going as soon as possible." Sakura explains. Izumo nods in understanding.

"Alright. It's the HOMRA bar, do you know where that is?" Izumo asks. Sakura nods. _'It's the base of the red clan.'_

"Isn't HOMRA a gang?" Sakura inquires. Izumo smiles nervously, he had witnessed the terrifying glare the medic nin had used on Tatara. He nods and rubs the back of his head nervously.

"Yeah, we're all part of it." Izumo explains. Sakura hums in understanding and waves off Izumo's worry. She turns and grabs Sasuke's hand, dragging him after her.

"Bye! Hope we don't meet like this again!" Sakura says, waving bye and dragging Sasuke down the stairs. The moment the roof was out of sight, both used chakra to bound quickly down the stairs. When they reach the bottom, they slow to a walk and quickly glance around, checking that there's no civilians- or worse, Scepter 4 members. They saw no-one around, except the ambulance further down the road. The ninjas blurred into motion again, racing away from the crime scene. The headed to their house so Sakura could change into something without blood on it and so they could hang around until this evening.

 **_-Timeskip-_**

Sakura smiles at her boyfriend. It wasn't a nice smile or a loving smile. No, it was a smile that said 'if-you-don't-do-this-and-act-nice-about-it-I'm-going-to-punch-you-into-tomorrow'. A feat she could probably accomplish. Sasuke puts on a nervous smile and Sakura drags him into the HOMRA bar. She immediately went over to the bar counter, where she saw Izumo. She slid onto a stool, ignoring the stares of the people in the bar she had yet to meet. Yanking Sasuke over to the stool next to her, Sakura smiled brightly up at Izumo. "Hello there again! You wouldn't happen to have some sake I could have?" Sakura asks. Izumo was about to say 'yes' when he saw Sasuke shake his head.

"Do not, whatever you do, give her sake." He warns. The glare Sakura leveled at Sasuke, however, was enough to shut him up. Izumo sweatdrops and gets Sakura a bottle of sake and a glass. "Thank you. So, is Tatara ok? It's been awhile since I healed anyone so I want to make sure he ok and didn't give him breathing problems or a heart murmur or anything." Sakura says, pouring herself a glass and taking a few sips. Izumo doesn't answer, he merely smiles. Sakura eyes him suspiciously, finishing off her glass.

"Thank you for saving my life!" A voice says cheerfully, sliding into the seat beside Sakura. The medic glances at the person, seeing Tatara up and alive, if not a bit pale. Sakura grunts in reply, sounding very much like Sasuke. She pours herself another glass of sake.

"I'm a medic. If I hadn't saved you, or at least tried to, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself." Sakura says bluntly. Tatara smiles.

"Well either way, thanks! Oh and um, I wanted to ask if you wanted to join HOMRA?" Both Sakura and Sasuke look at Tatara when he says this. Sakura swirls her drink and sighs before taking a sip.

"No can do, sorry. I can come here every once in awhile though." Sakura pauses before looking Izumo straight in the eye. "Are you looking for Tatara's shooter?" She asks. Tatara answered.

"They are, no matter how many time I tell them it's not needed!" Tatara pouts. Sakura and Sasuke both chuckle.

"That's just how family is." Sasuke mutters, a small smile gracing his lips.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm sorry the chapters have been so short! I'll try to make them longer, but no promises, sorry! Also, the aura allows them to feel a King's Weissman level. Think of them as having the 'Healing Aura'. The King can 'heal' Swords of Damocles and the clan members can sense the Swords' Weissman level. Also, the black aura look sorta like glass instead of the flame like auras of the blue and red clan! :) I'm only having Lee and Neji use titles because I'm awful at using them myself and I don't want to insult the Japanese language like that '-_- .**

 _'Thoughts'_

 _"Talking telepathically"_

 **"Demon talking"**

"Normal people"

 **_-Timeskip-_**

 **-** _Flashback_ **-**

 **Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Ino glares at her lazy partner. They would have made it back to Shizume city before nightfall but Shikamaru was going slower than a turtle. Therefore, they ended up at Sakura's door at 10:26 p.m. (Coincidentally the same time I'm writing this!) with Shikamaru constantly yawning and Ino looking thoroughly spent. Ino knocks on the door and it swings open to reveal Hinata. She takes one look at them before slapping a hand to her mouth to stop her laughter. Ino grumbles something unintelligible and pushes past the Hyuuga. She storms into the living room where everyone is and flops down of the couch next to Sakura, whose next to Sasuke. Ino quickly undoes her ponytail before redoing it, making her hair look much neater even if it's still clear she's exhausted. Sakura chuckles.

"Nice of you to finally join us." Sakura jokes as Hinata and Shikamaru come into the living room. "You would almost think that you're becoming a Nara." Ino shoots a venomous glare at Sakura, who laughs it off. Hinata and Shikamaru settle in and Sakura turns serious. "Sasuke and I have found the original cause of the war. Nonviolent HOMRA member Tatara Totsuka was shot in the chest near the heart by a man who identified himself as the Colorless King. If I hadn't been there, Tatara would be dead." It wasn't meant to brag, it was just the truth. "HOMRA's on a warpath searching for the King. Not only will they enter a fight with the Colorless King, but I believe Scepter 4 will join in, making it a three-way battle. I don't know if other clans will join in but the most likely would be the Silver King, as he is the leader. The Timeless Palace and Jungle might also join but I doubt the last three will actually make an appearance. The Silver King hasn't been seen in years and the Timeless Palace doesn't really pay attention to clan activities unless it's dangerous enough. Jungle might be behind the war somehow but, even if they are, I highly doubt they'll make an appearance. We need to keep an eye on the Red King. When Sasuke and I were at HOMRA, we felt the Red King's Weissman levels. They were high up there, and I believe that if he's not careful, his Sword will fall in this coming war. And before any of you say anything, I believe that we won't be able to stop the war completely. We're gonna have to just keep the fighting from getting out of hand." Sakura finishes, sweeping her gaze over the newly reformed clan. Ino frowns.

"HOMRA's after the Colorless King, then. Are we going to save him or let HOMRA have their way with him?" She asks. Shikamaru's the one to reply, a just as prominent frown on his face.

"It depends. The Colorless Clan doesn't have a specific aura like all the other clans- that's why they're colorless. The King could have easily had an aura that allowed him to control someone else, take over their mind or body, or a plethora of things that would trick HOMRA into going after an innocent. We need more information." Shikamaru turned his attention to Sakura and Sasuke. "Do you have a video or picture of the shooter?" He asks. Sakura nods and unclips her watch, putting it in the middle of them with it for a second, she gets a holographic picture to come out. Ino studies the deranged looking boy.

"He looks like a teen, it's possible he's a student." Ino murmurs.

"Very possible. He looks to be sixteen or seventeen." Neji agrees.

"We must find him and make him answer for his unyouthful deed!" Lee shouts. Kiba, being closest to him, winces and slaps a hand over his mouth.

"Be quiet! The neighbors are gonna start askin' questions we don't need if you continue to shout things like that!" The Inuzuka growls. Lee pushes Kiba's hand away and rubs that back of his head apologetically.

"Sorry, Kiba-san." He apologizes, much quieter than he had been before. Kiba smirks and waves it off.

"Eh, it's alright. Just keep it down from now on, 'kay?" Lee nods in understanding. Ino snorts at the spectacle. Even after a year apart in a new dimension, everyone acted pretty much the same. Shikamaru's still lazy, Lee's still 'youthful', Sakura's still scary, Sasuke's still quiet. Everyone's the same. Except... everyone's quieter. Soft chatter breaks out, everyone talking about what they could do with this new threat. Ino herself is analyzing the picture, memorizing the appearance of the boy. There's an insane glint his eyes and a disturbing grin on his face, making his features look sharper. Hinata sighs loudly, drawing Ino's gaze. The kunoichi is staring at the disturbing picture sadly, her protective and motherly nature coming to light.

"That poor child had a hard past. Holding all that hate, then suddenly having the power to enact his revenge on the world... I can't imagine what that did to him, mentally." She murmurs, catching everyone's attention. The talk ceases as everyone sees the truth in her words. What could that boy have gone through to make him so disturbed? What could have happened to make him go so far as to try and kill another? Sure, as shinobi, all of them have taken lives. Some more than others. But that's because the dimension they grew up in was riddled with war and death, and soaked in blood. This world is... peaceful when compared. Killers are much rarer, so what happened to make him one? To make him try to diminish the light in another's eyes?

 **_-Timeskip-_**

Ino jolted upright, glaring blearily at the cause for her sudden alertness. Sakura had woken up and was currently in the middle of getting dressed. Ino groans and pushes her blankets off, getting off of her cot. "Sorry Ino, didn't mean to wake you." Sakura apologizes, pulling her pinkish red shirt on. Considering they were in an entirely different world, the ninjas had been forced to change their outfits. Sakura's consists of black shorts, black shoes, a pinkish-red shirt, black gloves, and her hitai-ate tying her hair back as normal. The blue diamond on her forehead stands out more than usual in this new world. Ino sighs and shrugs her apology off.

"Eh, it's ok. Mind if I ask where you're going so early in the morning?" It wasn't actually particularly early for the ninja, but during this year they had all gotten pretty used to sleeping in. Sakura smiles as Ino drags herself over to the closet to get into her own clothes which are a purple mid-riff tank top, a purple skirt with black short-shorts underneath (in case she has to fight), fishnet on her shoulders and knees, and her hitai-ate used as a belt. All in all, her outfit probably changed the least.

"I'm going to HOMRA again this morning. Tatara actually offered us a spot with them but I refused, so I had him settle for me visiting. Plus, I'm helping with their search for that young man and it'd be a bit rude for me to not stop by. I'm up early because I want to get some breakfast before I go." Sakura explains. Ino nods at the explanation and ties her hitai-ate.

"I'm coming with. At least for the breakfast part." She says. Sakura smiles.

"I'd love to have you along. It's been awhile since we've been able to have some girl time. Should we wake Hinata and Tenten?" Sakura asks. One glance at the two sleeping girls and Ino shook her head.

"No, let them sleep." Ino decides. Sakura nods in agreement and opens the door silently. They fall into a comfortable silence as they leave the house, walking among the mostly empty if it's only seven in the morning, there aren't that many people out. Ino supposes it's because it's the weekend, but she isn't sure. She brushes a hand along her hitai-ate, thinking wistfully of Konoha. In Konoha, there was always people around and shinobi leaping from rooftop to rooftop. Little kids playing in the roads and academy students practicing with shuriken and kunai. There would be new genin hunting Tora or pulling weeds or repairing roofs. Naruto would be sitting in the Hokage office complaining about the paperwork with Hinata smiling in amusement. Lee would be doing some insane training regiment. Ino would be with Sai or on a mission or taking care of the Yamanaka flower shop. Ino sighs and smiles sadly, glancing at the huge buildings closing in on them on every side. In Konoha, they were _free_. Here, they're boxed in.

"Sakura!" Ino tensed, zoning back into reality immediately. Sakura beside her was still relaxed and she turned with a cheerful smile. Ino copied her best friend and spies a blonde racing towards them. His hair wasn't bright like Naruto's, but the boy's act immediately reminds Ino of their playful leader.

"Hey, Tatara!" Sakura greets. Ino glances at her swiftly before looking back at the boy- Tatara -who had just skidded to a halt in front of them. She smiles at him and he returns it with his own. **-** _He smiles at her. It's a true smile. A genuine smile. It wasn't the fake smile he always wears. It's real and it's for her. **-**_ Ino's smile falters unnoticeably. The similarity was _uncanny_.

"What're are you doing out here?" He asks. Ino snorts and rolls her eyes. _'Being a bit hypocritical, are we?'_ She thinks. And the similarity ends there.

"Well, my friend and I are going for breakfast. You can join us if you like." Sakura offers. Tatara shakes his head.

"No, thank you. I'm getting groceries for HOMRA. I swear, if I wasn't here, those guys would end up forgetting to eat!" Tatara jokes. Sakura chuckles. Ino can here they sharpness hidden within in it- Sakura knows that him dying was a very likely outcome. Even with her healing, the boy had probably lost a lot of blood. "Well, nice to see you Sakura! And you..." Tatara blinks and trails off, realizing he does not yet know Ino's name.

"The name's Ino Yamanaka." She greets, holding out her hand for him to shake. The boy does so, the smile that looks so much like _his_ planted firmly of Tatara's face. They shake and Ino pulls her hand away gently, not wanting to seem rude. "Well, I guess Sakura and I should get going. Don't want to hold up your shopping!" Ino says jokingly, trying to force the memories back. Tatara chuckles.

"Oh yeah, and I guess you guys want to get some breakfast?" Sakura smiles and nods.

"We're _starving_! Anyway, I was just gonna drop by later with Ino, but I guess I'll tell ya now. I was thinking of heading over to HOMRA after breakfast sometime. I want to make sure you're perfectly fine and Izumo probably wants to know if I've found anything." Sakura explains. Tatara sighs and rubs the back of his head.

"I don't get why you guys feel the need to go after him. I'm alive, so no harm done, right?" Sakura and Ino both give him deadpanned expressions.

"Tatara, _I_ know there was harm done and I wasn't even _there_." Ino stresses. Tatara sighs again.

"Fine, fine." His smile comes back full force, "Well I'd better get going." Tatara waves and starts to walk away. Ino returns his wave with a short one of her own. Once he's out of earshot Sakura gives her a worried glance. Ino ignores her and turns back around, continuing the way they had been going. Sakura sighs and walks next to her, leading them through the streets to a restaurant. Several minutes later, they were sitting at a two person table in the back corner of a small cafe, sipping coffee and eating sandwiches. Sakura puts down her glass, the clink it makes oddly loud in the still air.

"You tensed whenever he smiled," Sakura says softly. Ino tightens her grip on her sandwich minutely before relaxing again with a sigh.

"It's nothing." She murmurs. Silence reigns again for a few minutes, broken only when a group of shady looking boys came in and sat a few tables away.

"Ino, please. You can talk to me." Sakura pleads quietly. Ino glances at the boys, switching the topic with Sakura.

"They aren't very pleasant looking." She remarks, eyeing the boys warily. A small frown slips into place on Sakura's lips. Ino holds back a wince at the betrayal shining in her friend's green orbs. Even though she would trust Sakura with her life, this was something she had to get over on her own. Ino blinks away the thoughts- which brought with them painful memories -and focused on the boys, one of which who currently had the waitress' wrist gripped in his hand. Sakura had turned her eyes to the group as well. Ino pushes her chair out silently and stands, using her kunoichi prowess to moves up behind the nearest boy without alerting any of them. Ino taps the brunette's shoulder and smiles sweetly as he whirls around.

"Excuse me, but could you let the waitress go? She's got a job to do and you're keeping her from doing it." Ino says innocently. The rest of the boys turns to her. There's four in total- the brunette, a blonde, a redhead, and a black haired one. The blonde chuckles lowly and pulls a gun from his belt and aims it at her. Ino keeps her sweet smile plastered onto her face and the blonde sneers.

"Oh look, we have some girlies trying to be brave." Ino's smile gets a lot more menacing at that statement- any sweetness in it gone. Her eyes glint and Sakura puts a hand on her shoulder.

"Aw come on, can't we play with them?" Ino asks, lusting for a fight. She hadn't been able to fight in a long time, and having grown up being trained to fight and kill, she was becoming really restless. The hand leaves her shoulder and Ino's smile widens. In a soundless flicker, Ino appears next to the waitress. She gives a squawk of surprise and Ino sighs before bringing her hand down on the black haired boy's wrist. The boy cries out in pain, retracting his hand and consequently releasing the waitress. Ino picks the waitress up bridal style and uses shunshin to get behind the counter. She puts the girl down and smiles at the girl- who looks like she's about to faint. "Just stay back here, ok? Maybe call someone for help." Ino says in a reassuring tone of voice. The waitress nods shakily and Ino smiles again before using shunshin to get back next to Sakura, who was currently fighting the redhead and brunette absentmindedly. Ino has to lean to the side almost immediately, a bullet whizzing past her head. Ino leaps at the blonde, who fires off some more easy-to-dodge shots. She swipes the blonde off his feet and blocks a lousy punch from the blackette. Ino grabs the fist, twisting his arm out of socket with a _pop,_ throwing the boy to the ground. He clashed heads with the blonde, knocking them both unconscious. Ino turned to see how far Sakura had gotten. The pinkette hit a pressure point, knocking the redhead out. Sakura kneels in front of the brunette. She had tied the boy up with ninja wire, keeping the brunette from moving.

"Have you learned your lesson?" Sakura asks. The brunette sneers at her.

"You were lucky! We didn't know you were strains." The brunette hisses. Sakura chuckles and stands. Ino looks at her in confusion.

"We're not strains. We were just trained well." Sakura says. Ino nods her agreement, sending a glance over to other boys to make sure they aren't going to wake anytime soon. "Now, what were you planning to do to the waitress?" The boy smirks- though pain flits across his face for a moment.

"What do you think?" He spits out. Sakura sighs and stands up just as the door to the cafe opens.

"Too bad Scepter 4's here, I don't appreciate men who try to take advantage of women." Sakura says before going over to the table and grabbing their half-eaten sandwiches. Ino moves around the Scepter 4 men- who are all watching them warily -and the unconscious boys to get to the counter. She looks over it, smiling warmly at the waitress, before leaving twenty bucks on the counter.

"Keep the change. Think of it as a sorry gift for causing such a raucous." Ino says and heads over to Sakura. "We ready to go?" Sakura nods- they needed to get out of here quickly. Back in their world, jutsus are a normal, every-day thing. Here, however... if they weren't careful, they'd be convicted by Scepter 4 for being 'strains'. Something they had learned to be generally bad. They apparently have various powers gifted to them- despite the fact that they normally aren't under a King's influence.

"Hold on! You can't just _leave_!" A Scepter 4 soldier (because that's, essentially, what they _are_ ) objects. Ino glances at them, the true weight of their actions settling in. If Scepter 4 thought they're strains, they'd have to disguise themselves wherever they went. Even if they weren't found to be strains, Scepter 4 would be curious about their fighting skills. Ino suppresses a curse and sighs instead- there had been a lot of that lately -and turns to fully face the soldier.

"And why _not_?" Ino questions, putting her hands on her hips. When the soldier took in her appearance completely, his face went red.

"A-ah w-well... you see, uh, we need to know... um... what exactly happened." The man stutters, adverting his eyes. Ino chuckles.

"Well, these boys came in, they antagonized the waitress, and we taught them a lesson. Simple as that." Ino says, waving off the question. "If that's all, my friend and I are gonna hit the road. Have a lot of distance to travel." She lies sarcastically. She caught one of the soldier's gazes- the only one _not_ blushing like a madman. His blue eyes are narrowed and Ino knows he's onto them. Or, at least, he _thinks_ he's onto them. Ino smiles innocently at the man and grabs Sakura's arm in a loose grip. Since she couldn't very well use hand signs to convey her suspicion, this would have to do. "I'm sorry for any inconvenience we might have cause, we thought they'd be much more difficult to take down." Ino apologizes, talking mostly to the man in the back this time. The suspicion didn't leave his expression, though it did lessen a bit. Sakura frowns.

"Can we _leave_ now? I need to check up on Tatara to make sure he's complete-" Sakura whips out a kunai and deflects the knives aimed at her. The red aura surrounding them flares wildly at the contact and Sakura creates a thin black aura shield to protect her momentarily. The man smirks.

"So you _are_ strains. I knew something felt off about you."


	4. IMPORTANT AN

**Alright, so it's been** ** _ages_** **since I've posted and I'm very, truly sorry about that and I'm working on the next chapter. You see- I got a new computer and my old one had my password for this site locked or whatever and I had no clue what the password to my email was so it took me forever to get back into my computer. After that, I started writing (slowly, I'm a lazy-ass bish) but I saw a review asking me about Sai and that brings me to this AN.**

 **I honestly wasn't planning on including him. When I first came up with this (so, so long ago when I barely knew about Naruto), I didn't include Sai 'cause I didn't know about him. Then I found about him and finished the series and started righting this but I hadn't thought about him because this idea was lodged firmly in my mind beforehand and that somehow translated to forgetting about him. Now, I'm already two chapter or whatever in and I work slowly so I want you to think carefully about my next question;**

 **Should I include Sai?**

 **This largely affects the next chapter so it'll take** ** _even longer_** **to get the damn chappie out, yeah? So, again, think carefully.**

 **On a side note... I hope you've all had a wonderful summer! I'm moving (not very far) so that will add a** ** _tiny bit_** **of time to the making of the next chapter but I'll try to get it out as soon as possible! And I'm just wondering, mostly for curiosity's sake, what's your favorite Naruto pairing (mine's Tobi/Obito and Kakashi)? what about K (Saru x Misaki)? ANd of course- your favorite character from both anime (Gaara or Minato and Kuroh, respectively)!**


	5. Chapter 4

**I have 3 things to apologize for:**

 **1.) The amount of time it took for me to post. I have been busy and lost my interest in this story for a while. I'm glad I got it back thought- this is an interesting idea, I think.**

 **2.) The length. It's short as shit. I'm sorry. I just wanted to get this chapter out.**

 **3.) The quality. My writing style has changed so there is a different style at the end. It doesn't flow as well as I would like but we'll have to make do.**

* * *

Hinata moves about the kitchen, pulling together breakfast for the everyone. Sasuke and Sakura are low on food and money, as neither have high paying jobs. Sakura's a waitress and Sasuke's a bartender, both pulling in about the same amount. Sasuke also swipes money from richer people, but Hinata isn't supposed to know that. She herself is a free-form painter and photographer, which means she doesn't make much either. Neji is a police officer, managing to pull off a transfer to Shizume in the afternoon they were given before they had to get to Shizume. Kiba is a dog trainer, helping all the dogs that would've ended up being put down. It's a fitting job for the Inuzuka and Akamaru seems to happy making new friends and helping them control themselves. Kiba's rather famous in the dog-world for his work and he got called this morning to help out with a dog who bites anyone who comes near. He's setting out a little later in the day, packing for the relatively short travel and waiting impatiently for breakfast. She's not entirely sure what Shino does, her teammate having muttered something about plants before leaving for bed the night before.

Rock Lee is currently unemployed, though he had made a decent sum for being a construction worker for five months. Tenten takes care of older weapons and fixes up anything that is broken. She's looking to start her own weapons' store but she needs quite a bit of money for that so she's waiting until the group is more stable financially. Ino is a teacher, giving the Shinobi a significant boost in money and Shikamaru works as a game designer. Choji is also unemployed but he makes food to send with Ino so that the kids could have a few treats and that the parents could buy more if the kids wanted. Their life is beyond hectic at the moment, but at least they have enough money to live off of. Not that it would be a problem if they didn't; all of them spent a substantial amount of time living in the forest in their previous lives.

Hinata had just put the finishing touches on Kiba's steak and sides when the phone rings. She turns off the burners and wipes off her hands on a nearby towel. She grabs the phone with one hand and the plate of rice balls with another.

"Hello," She says into the phone, "Hinata Uzu- Hyuuga here." She's still not used to _not_ being Hinata Uzumaki in this new world.

"Aunt Hina?" A quiet voice ask. Hinata takes in a sharp breath, her hand tightening on the phone.

"Sarada?" She knows that the kid probably isn't Sarada— they're more likely Sakura or Ino in a henge for some reason. Scepter 4 perhaps? —but the voice brings back so many memories. "Where are you, sweetheart? Is Inojin there with you?"

"We're at Scepter 4. I don't like it here. Can you come to get us?" _We've been made. They've seen our abilities. We need assistance._ Hinata releases a shaky breath.

"Is it alright if I send Uncle Kiba and Akamaru?" _I can't bear to see two of the ones we've lost._ There's quiet for a moment.

"Yeah." _I understand._ Hinata puts the plate down quickly and covers the phone so that the Scepter 4 agents undoubtedly listening in won't hear.

"Kiba! I need you to go get Sarada and Inojin from Scepter 4! Sakura and Ino are worried." She calls up the stairs (because even if she had covered the speaker, you could never be too careful). It takes a few seconds before he replies.

"Of course!" The Inuzuka appears with a swirl of leaves next to her, Akamaru by his side. Hinata smiles weakly at him before shifting to speak into the phone again.

"He'll be there in just a moment. Are you two going to be alright?" _Do they suspect anything?_

"We'll be ok." _No._

 **~POV Change~**

"So you _are_ strains. I knew something felt off about you." Ino glares defiantly at the soldier, tensing for battle. Sakura grabs her shoulder and she shoots the pinkette a questioning look.

"We don't want to fight you but we will if you give us no choice," Sakura says sharply, her chakra nearly visibly as she coils it around her fists. The soldiers don't stand a chance if they fight and Ino knows it. They may be trained well in this universe, but they're hardly chuunin much less ANBU level like the shinobi are. They would be easy pickings if this world condoned killing.

"We're going to have to ask you to come with us." Says the man who had attempted to stab them. Sakura smiles and _-Oh shit they're all going to die because Sakura is a_ demon _when she wants to be._ Ino holds back a shiver at the deceptively sweet smile and instead focuses on finding the easiest way to escape from the soldiers without getting them in more trouble. A couple of ideas come to mind but she decides to wait until Sakura reveals what she's doing.

"Alright," The pink-haired medic says amiably right as the amount chakra coating her fist spikes from breaking-a-few-bones strong to destroying-a-mountain strong. Ino gives her a sharp, surprised look but the medic's fist is already burying itself into the ground. Plumes of smoke explode from the floor of the cafe, chunks of rock mixed in. The ground under their feet rumbles and Ino automatically sticks herself in place with chakra. Sakura gives the blonde a clear 'follow-my-lead' look and with a puff of smoke, henges into a familiar dark-haired, pale-skinned girl. Ino swallows nervously but copies her superior, henging in the child she knows best; her own. Sakura-as-Sarada sends her an apologetic look before she attaches herself to Ino, screaming in terror. Ino immediately realizes what Sakura's plan is and clutches at her friend, burying her face into the henged girl. They're rolled around a bit roughly and Ino had to consciously force herself not to use chakra to stick herself to one place.

It takes a bit for the ground to settle and Ino can tell she'll have bruises later if she doesn't already. After waiting a few seconds to make sure it's completely calm, Ino and Sakura uncurl from each other. Sakura has tears gathering in her eyes and she's sniffling. Ino, on the other hand, is trying to stay brave but tears prickle at her eyes anyway. It's the perfect lie, especially in this universe where the ability to change your appearance into that of another isn't a well-known ability. Ino stumbles to her feet, helping Sakura up as well. Her friend immediately latches onto her side and Ino holds her protectively as her eyes dart around.

"Kids…?" Sakura makes a half-surprised, half-terrified sound and re-attaches herself to Ino- who glares at the Scepter 4 clan member with a mix of fear and anxiousness.

"Who are you? Why are we here?!" Ino asks, a bit desperately, "What do you want with us?!" A second Scepter 4 clan member joins the first and they stare down at the transformed ninja in confusion. They talk quietly among themselves and, with the careful use of chakra, Ino catches enough of their conversation to figure out that they think Ino and Sakura switched places with two random kids. The more people-person Scepter 4 member turns back to Ino and Sakura and makes his way down into the pit. The shinobi move away from him a little but stay mostly still. The man kneels in front of them in an attempt to look less threatening and smiles.

"Hey. My name is Dōmyōji Andy. I'm an officer of Scepter 4. Would you mind coming back to our base so we can find your parents?" Ino and Sakura exchange worried glances before Sakura nods hesitantly. Andy smiles warmly and holds his hand out for them.

"Let's get you out of here, yeah?"

 **_-Timeskip-_**

"Can you tell me your names?" Andy asks, sitting in the chair next to Ino. Sakura shakes her head.

"Mom told us not to talk to strangers." Sakura insists, pressing herself back in the comfy chair so she could curl up in a ball.

"Well... I'm not a stranger, am I? You know _my_ name." Andy pushes, "And anyway, we can't get find your parents without your last name." Ino squints at him before smirking.

"Give Sakura a phone and she can call home!" She says triumphantly. Andy glances back at another agent who had been listening in before smiling at them. He pulls out a pair of pencils and two blank sheets of paper and slides them over to the shinobi.

"Why don't you draw while you wait?" He asks. They pull the papers closer to themselves and do what any child of their (supposed) age would do; they start scribbling. Well, not quite scribbles. They look more like messy sketches, but it works. Sakura is drawing the typical kid drawing- a drawing of her family. She makes sure to include Akamaru and to leave out Ino and herself. Ino, however, appears to be drawing some sort battle scene. Or something. It's not much later that Andy comes back, bringing along a phone and the one that had originally attacked them.

"Hello again- I brought a phone and a friend." Here the man makes an oddly Uchiha-sounding sound. Ino doesn't reply and Sakura takes it upon herself to wave shyly. Andy gives her the phone and Ino finally looks up, watching curiously as Sakura taps in the number. She's undoubtedly memorizing it for later use. When the phone starts ringing, Andy takes it back and puts it in the middle of the table on speaker.

"Hello, Hinata Uzu- Hyuuga here." The entire group of four catches the slight mistake and Sakura grimaces internally. She can relate with Hinata- she herself accidentally uses the last name 'Uchiha' every now and then.

"Aunt Hina?" She says, a bit quietly. She's gotta keep her shy facade up. However, she can't but feel bad for the pain she'll probably drag Hinata through. The former Hyuuga had raised Sarada just as much as Sakura herself had and Hinata's always been more emotional than most shinobi.

"Sarada?" Sakura winces internally at the slight shudder in Hinata's voice. The Scepter 4 officers probably didn't catch it- hopefully. "Where are you, sweetheart? Is Inojin there with you?" Sakura glances at Ino out of the corner of her eye, breathing a silent sigh of relief. Hinata had caught onto the plan.

"We're at Scepter 4. I don't like it here. Can you come to get us?" Sakura says, her words coded. Though not by much. Andy gets an offended look when she says she doesn't like Scepter 4 but smooths it over when the other one shoots him a look.

"Is it alright if I send Uncle Kiba and Akamaru?"

"Yeah." _I understand._ There's quiet for a second- filled with static before indistinguishable words are yelled on the other end. It doesn't take very long for Hinata to return to the phone.

"He'll be there in just a moment. Are you two going to be alright?" Sakura and Ino share a look before glancing at the two officers. Deeming them not-dangerous, at least not to them, Sakura flicks to the other meaning of the question- do they know anything? She thinks back to what the officers know about them and judges it inconsequential.

"We'll be ok."


End file.
